Refrigerator having adjustable door shelves



June 12, 1956 o. v. SAUNDERS 2,749,718

REFRIGERATOR HAVING ADJUSTABLE DOOR SHEILVES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 6, 1954 INVENTOR. Orson V Saunders.

His Afforney.

June 12, 1956 o. v. SAUNDERS 2,749,718

REFRIGERATOR HAVING ADJUSTABLE DOOR SHELVES Filed Oct. 6, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Flg'z Orson V. Saunders.

His Attorney.

United States Patent REFRIGERATOR HAVING ADJUSTABLE DOOR SHELVES Orson V. Saunders, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application October 6, 1954, Serial No. 460,622

2 Claims. (CI. 62-89) This invention relates to refrigeration and particularly to a door shelf arrangement for refrigerator cabinets.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved shelf arrangement on the inner face of a refrigerator cabinet door.

Another object of the invention is to provide a detachable shelf arrangement in a recessed portion of the inner face of a refrigerator cabinet door wherein the height of one shelf may be readily and quickly changed or adjusted vertically relative to another shelf in the arrangement for varying the distance between the shelf whereby a greater or lesser amount of food storage space can be had between the shelves to thereby increase the utility of a shelf arrangement on a refrigerator door.

In carrying out the foregoing objects it is a further and more specific object of the invention to form a plurality of vertically spaced apart similar sets of shelf mounting means integral on or in an inner molded plastic panel of a door of a refrigerator cabinet whereby mounting portions of a shelf supported on the door may be detachably locked to either of the plurality of sets of mounting means for changing the height of the shelf on the door without the use of additional elements which might increase the cost of producing a door to such a degree as to prevent the provision of an adjustable shelf feature for the benefit of the public.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front view of a refrigerator cabinet showing the food storage chamber door thereof in open position and having the present invention embodied therein;

Figure 2 is an enlarged broken horizontal sectional view of the refrigerator cabinet door and a shelf thereon taken on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical view taken on the line 33 of Figure 1 showing a shelf in one position during the act of changing its height on the door;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 3 and is taken on the line 44 of Figure 2 showing a shelf in a mounted position upon mounting means provided on the inner panel of the refrigerator cabinet door;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary front view of a shelf mounting means and is taken in the direction of the arrow 5 in Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view taken on the line 66 of Figure 3 showing an elongated shelf mounting aperture in the inner panel of the refrigerator door.

Referring to the drawings, for illustrating the invention, there is shown in Figure 1 thereof a refrigerator cabinet generally represented by the reference character 1%. Cabinet 1%) includes the usual outer shell or panels 11 and an inner metal liner 12 spaced therefrom and having suitable or conventional insulating material disposed in the space therebetween. Liner 12 forms walls of a food storage chamber 13 within cabinet 10. A machine compartment, closed by a closure member 14, is provided in cabinet 10 below the food storage chamber 13. A closed refrigerating system (not shown) is associated with cabinet 10 and includes a refrigerant translating device or motor-compressor-condenser unit housed within the machine compartment. Food storage chamber 13 is provided with the usual or conventional perforated and vertically spaced apart food supporting shelves 16. The closed refrigerating system also includes an evaporator 17 located in the upper portion of chamber 13 for cooling air within this chamber. Suitable conduits are included in the refrigerated system for connecting the refrigerant translating device or unit to evaporator 17. Evaporator 17 may be of any suitable type and may be shaped to provide walls of a freezing compartment within chamber 13 normally closed by a closure member. Food chamber 13 has an acess opening in the front of cabinet 10 and a recessed insulated door structure, generally referred to by the reference character 20, hingedly mounted on the cabinet, normally closes this access opening and is shown in open position in Figure l of the drawings.

The refrigerator cabinet door structure 20 comprises an outer rectangular substantially rigid metal panel or pan member 21 flanged inwardly about the periphery thereof as at 22 (see Figure 2). Door 20 also includes an inner pan or panel 23 disposed in overlapping relation with and secured to the peripheral flanges 22 of outer door panel 21. This inner door panel 23 is preferably formed of molded plastic material such, for example, as powdered styrene which is heated and forced into a suitable mold. Other materials such as polyvinyl-acetate or polyvinyl-chloride may be employed to form this inner door panel if desired. A rubber-like gasket 25 is provided with a hollow resilient or flexible sealing bead adapted to engage the front wall of cabinet 10 about the chamber access opening, to close and seal the food storage chamber 13, and has an integral leg portion interposed between the peripheral edges of door panels 21 and 23. The gasket 25 extends entirely around door 20 and a plurality of spaced apart screws 26 or the like pass through openings in panel 23, the leg of gasket 25 and are threaded into tapped holes provided in the flange 22 of outer metal panel member 21 to thereby rigidly clamp or secure panel 21 and gasket 25 to the outer panel 21. Any suitable or desirable insulating material 27 is disposed in the space between the outer and inner panels 21 and 23 of door 2%. The inner molded plastic panel 23 is dished or projected rearwardly of the periphery edge portion thereof, as at 28, to provide the back, top, bottom and sides of a recess or a recessed portion 29 in the inner face of door 20.

In accordance with the present invention it is desired to increase the utility of shelves mounted on door 20 within the recess 29 in the inner face thereof. To accomplish this desideratum I provide means on the inner door panel 23 having portions thereof located at different elevations thereon adapted to receive and lockably support a shelf which shelf is detachable from one of the portions of the means and movable relative thereto into interlocking supported engagement with another portion of the means to change the height of the shelf within the recessed portion 29 of door 20. This means in the present disclosure includes a plurality of vertically spaced apart similar or companion sets of shelf mounts in the form of blind apertures or slots provided in bosses integrally formed on the molded plastic inner door panel member 23. The provision of the blind apertures and/ or slots to form the shelf mounting means avoids perforating panel 23 ing'parts-which would increase the cost'ofthe construction of door 20. Thus I provide each of the vertically spaced apart shelf mounting means with a slot formed in a wall or boss 31 of-molded plastic panel 23 at the sides of recess 29. These slots each comprise a horizontal portion 32 and a downwardly directed substantially vertical portion 33 (see Figures 2, 3 and The boss 31 and walls of portions-32 and 33 of these slots are formed integral from the material of the inner molded plastic panel 23. Each of the vertically spaced apart shelf mounting means also include horizontally spaced apart vertically elongated apertures 34-formed in an integral boss 36 (see Figures 2, 3 and 6) on the back wall of panel 23. It is to be understood that any number of the sets of similar shelf supporting meansmay be provided along the height of door as may bedesired to obtain various adjusted positions of shelves adapted to be supported thereon. A plurality of shelves, each" generally represented by the reference character 40', are located on door 20 (see Figure 1) within the recess or recessed portion 29 in the inner face thereof to augment the food supporting area or surfaces withinthe refrigerated food storage chamber 13 of cabinet 10. These shelves may be formed of metal but they are preferably molded from the same material as specified for the molded plastic inner door panel 23. Each shelf 40 comprises an upright front guardrail 41 (see Figures 2 and 4) having inturned side flanges 42 (see Figures 2 and 4) at the ends thereof, a substantially horizontal solid or imperforate food supporting base 43 and a downwardly directed flange 44 at the rear of base 43. The side flanges 42 each have a shelf mounting portion in the form of an integral lug or projection-46 thereon. The shelf flange 44 also has a pair of horizontally spaced apart lugs or projections 47 formed integrally thereon and extending rearwardly from the depending backflange 44. An enlarged boss portion 48 adjacent each of the lugs or projections 47 serve to space the shelf from the front surface of inner door panel 23 at the recess 29'therein for permitting cool air within food chamber 13 of cabinet 10 to circulate or flow around the back of a shelf 40 to more effectively refrigerate bottles, jars or other food containing receptacles adapted to be placed on the shelf and exposed to the cool air within the food storage chamber.

In Figure f the drawings I show a shelf detached from its locked removably supported position on panel 23, illustratedby the dot-dash lines, on a lower set of the similar shelf mounting means and moved into association with an upper set of the vertically spaced apart sets of similar mounting means. In this showing it will'be notedthat shelf 40 shown in full lineshas its side mounting portion, lugs o-r projections 46, moved into and against the end of. the horizontal portion 32 of the side slots and has its rear mounting portions, lugs or projections 47, moved into the upper part of the vertically elongated apertures 34; In orderto detachably lock shelf 40 to the inner-door.panel'23 within recess 29 in this adjusted elevated position the shelf 40 is shifted downwardly relative to panel 23' so as to cause the mounting projections 46 tomove into the verticalportion 33 of the side slots andto cause. the mounting projections 47 to move to the bottom of elongated apertures 34 as is shown in Figure 4 of. the drawings. The shelf 40 will thereupon be removably held in place on door 20 within the recess 29 againsthorizontal movement relative to panel 23. By providingthe plurality of vertically spacedapart sets of similar shelf'mounting means as herein disclosed and detachably locking. a shelf to one of the sets thereof it should be, obvious that when the distance between any one; door shelf 40 is desired to be variedfor affording a taller orshorter storage space between certain of the shelves, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, one shelf may beremovedfrom onesetof'supports and moved into interlocking supported engagement with another of a higher or lower of the sets of supports. In this manner a shelf 40 is adjustable vertically on door 20 to change the height thereof within the recessed portion 29 of the refrigerator cabinet door.-

From the foregoingit shouldbe apparent that my improvement not only increases the utility of a shelf arrangernent on a door of a refrigerator cabinet but that the adjustable feature of the shelves is obtained without the necessity of employing additional parts which would increase the cost of providing this feature. The forming of the adjustable shelf supports as blind apertures in bosses integral with and provided on, the inner molded plastic door panel increases the structural strength of this panel, minmizes bulging and/or wrapping thereof under temperature changes, to which it is subjected, and also avoids the necessity of perforating the door panel intermediate its peripheral edges. Provision of the vertically spaced apart similar sets ofshelf mounting means permits all of the shelves to be made alike and formed in a single mold to thus reduce the cost of providing suchshelves. The shelves are constructed in such a manner that when a shelf is supported on one set of mounting means portions of this shelf substantially conceals the mounting means upon which it is supported.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a refrigerator cabinet of the type including a food storage chamber therein having a front access opening, a door pivotally supported on said cabinet for horizontal swinging movement relative thereto normally closing the chamber access opening and a refrigerating system associated with said cabinet including a refrigerant evaporator for cooling air in said chamber, said door including a one-piece molded plastic panel forming the inner face thereof, said panel having a depression therein providing a recess in the inner face ofsaid-door, said recess providing a food storage space in said door complemental to the storage chamber in said cabinet, the improvement comprising; forming a plurality of sets of shelfmounting means integrally on said door panel from the material thereof at different elevations along the depression therein, supporting a shelf in detachable interlocked relationship on a selected set of said mounting means within the recess of said doorwhereby articles placed on the shelf are exposed to and'refrigerated by the air in said chamber cooled by said evaporator, said shelfbeing removable fromsaid' selected set of mounting means and shiftable relative thereto-vertically along said door into supported engagement with another set of said shelf mounting means to change the height of the shelf on said door, and saidsets of'shelf-mounting means being so constructed and arranged as to preventa shelf supported thereon from moving horizontally relative to said door during opening and closing swinging movements thereof.

2. A refrigerator cabinet as defined in claim 1 wherein the plurality'of sets of shelf mounting means are blind apertures in bosses formed integrally on the panel of the door thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

